Increasing Response Rates From Direct Mail Campaigns

There are several great and easy way to increase the response rates you are getting from your direct mail campaigns. The higher response rate you get from your mailings the more deals you are likely to create.

One way to increase the number of responses you get from your mailings is to use lumpy mail pieces in your envelopes to entice your reader to open the envelope and read your message. This could be a penny which makes noise or it could be a magnetic business card which would add dimension. Lumpy mail is actually defined as “anything that adds dimension to an envelope.”

It can be in the form of any type of enclosure such as a flat pen, or even a piece of candy or it can be the actual container in which the mail is delivered. “Statistics show that dimensional mailings can increase response rate by as much as 80%. There are many items that are lightweight and small that can be added to your mailings to increase response with very minimal expense. Design your direct mail piece so different that it demands people’s attention, and gets opened and read.

Because I use a response mechanism within the body of my letters (a section within the body of the letter that allows the seller to fill out all the information I need) when I send them out, I will sometimes use flat pens in my mailings so that the seller has the tool they need to fill out the response mechanism right in their hand. This just removes another step or another obstacle for the sellers and they will contact me even sooner.

Here are a couple of tips on lumpy mail; mark your envelopes “Hand Cancel Only” and whenever possible, use one of the smaller satellite postal facilities. Do your homework before deciding which dimensional inserts to use depending on the type of business you have and the budget you have. Determine your mailing costs before getting started, and I can’t emphasize this one enough, don’t mail out more pieces than you can practically respond to! Believe me when I tell you that these mailings work. If you can’t handle the responses you will get to your mailings, you are wasting marketing dollars.

If there is a particular homeowner we really want to target we will send that person a letter in a Priority Mail envelope or an envelope that looks like Priority Mail or Express Mail but isn’t. You can get these types of mailing envelopes from companies that specialize in promotional materials for businesses. I have information on companies that can provide these pieces for you on my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com.

You also need to provide any seller or customer multiple ways to contact you to find out more information about what you do. The more ways you create for a person to contact you, the more of them will because you will be meeting them at “their comfort level”. Maybe they want to call you now, maybe they want to respond directly to some mailing piece you sent them, perhaps they want to e-mail you photos of the property along with the information about it or maybe they want to go to your website and check you out first. The more ways you give a prospective seller or customer to contact you; the more of them are going to and the more deals you will potentially do.

And most importantly anytime you are mailing a letter to a prospective seller or customer make sure it is hand addressed. This is the best and quickest way to get a prospect’s attention. Also be sure all the spelling is correct on the front of the envelope. If you misspell a seller’s name that is a really quick way to get your mailing piece thrown in the trash.

In Conclusion

A marketing genius once said, “Perception is more important than reality.” People are more comfortable dealing with someone they perceive to be an expert in their field and you want that potential seller to perceive you as an expert at the start since that mailing piece is the first impression you are going to make on that potential seller.

There are lots of great ways for you to stand out in your business. Don’t be afraid to be different. Although you will still use some tried and proven marketing techniques, those who are willing to take a little risk are the ones who are the most successful. Believe me when I tell you, some of these lessons come from difficulties, pain, and even a couple of failures along the way. But once you make a mistake, never make that same mistake again! Different gets attention and that’s what you want, to get the attention of sellers, customers and clients who need your services.

Very simply, if you are a Real Estate Investor, and you don’t let people know that you buy houses, you won’t! Dare to be different in your approach to finding motivated sellers and customers.

Kathy Kennebrook is a speaker, author and has been actively investing in real estate since 1999, Kathy currently resides in Bradenton, FL and is known as the “Marketing Magic Lady” because she is the country’s leading real estate marketing expert on finding motivated sellers using direct mail.